230 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GO S SIP. 



[Oct. 1, 1869. 



very delicate lines, the upper one of which is silvery ; 

 the hind margin of the wing has several delicate 

 lines, and the veins of the wing are also silvery. 

 Hind wings pink at the base ; the rest pink-brown, 

 with two black bands, which are united by six black 

 lines. Thorax and body brown; thorax with an 

 ash-coloured line on each side at the base of the 

 wings, and two silvery lines ; body with a row of 

 white spots down the middle, and two silvery 

 marks on each side of each segment. ' Caterpillar 

 green or purplish-brown ; on the fifth and sixth 

 segments are two round black spots, dotted with 

 yellow, and encircled with a yellow ring ; those on 

 the fifth segment larger. Horn brown, very slender, 

 and quite straight. Feeds on the vine.' We have 

 never seen the caterpillar of this moth ; our de- 

 scription is extracted from Mr. Stainton's ' Manual 

 of British Butterflies and Moths.' The author has 

 copied it from Eryer. The perfect insect has 

 occurred now and then in England, but can scarcely 

 be regarded as a British insect. The scientific 

 name is Chcerocampa Celerio." 



Fig. 208. The Silver-striped Hawk-moth {Chcerocampa Celerio) 



During the past month we had one of these 

 caterpillars sent us by post alive and well. It is a 

 true Briton, and we have confided it to the care of a 

 practical entomologist, in the hope that it may one 

 day make its appearance in its perfect form. The 

 above description is substantially correct. 



In commending this work to our readers, we may 

 add, as an additional security for its accuracy, that 

 the author acknowledges in his preface the " impor- 

 tant services " of Mr. Doubleday, " through whose 

 hands every sheet and every column has passed. 

 Many omissions have thus been supplied and many 

 errors expunged. . . . Mr. Doubleday has abun- 

 dantly made up for my shortcomings, and has sup- 

 plied me with information which, in many instances, 

 has never before appeared in print." 



Eor this useful and valuable contribution to 

 popular natural history — in the highest acceptation 

 of the word "popular" — Mr. Newman has our 

 hearty thanks. 



MICROSCOPICAL RESEARCH. 



TN the last number of Science-Gossip, I noticed 

 ■*■ a paper taken from Scientific Opinion, under the 

 above title, which very properly censures the waste 

 of valuable time by thousands of incipient micro- 

 scopists. All amateur microscopists seem to become 

 what the author very aptly terms complete diato- 

 maniacs; they have a rage similar to the Dutch shell 

 and tulip mania. 



The mere fact of possessing a rare object that 

 very few others possess, is a miserly, selfish passion, 

 unworthy of the lowest intellect. Nature works 

 for the benefit of the whole human race col- 

 leetively, and showers her gifts with a bountiful 

 hand upon all, so that under her beneficence the 

 poor in pocket may be rich in mind, and the richest 

 in the land may find that there is a mine of wealth 

 within their grasp, if they will only stretch out 

 their hand towards it — riches more plentiful, and 

 wonders more wonderful, than were ever dreamt of 

 by the author of the " Arabian Nights." With re- 

 gard to the admiration for beauty, that 

 is another question ; diatoms are cer- 

 tainly very beautiful, but they are not the 

 only microscopic beauties in creation, by 

 a very long way. 



It is a strange thing that many people, 

 who term themselves naturalists, will run 

 hundreds of miles over a country, and 

 waste weeks and^eeks for the possession 

 of rare species. The chief object of the 

 microscopists, I presume, is to resolve 

 our most difficult problems in histology, 

 and to lessen the number of our already 

 too abundant species. 



What credit does it reflect upon any 

 man because he has got a species that 

 nobody else has, or that he has dis- 

 covered a species that nobody else has — Smithii, 

 Brownii, Jonesii, Robinsonii ? None, in my opinion. 

 If there is any honour to be gained, it is in the 

 reduction of species, and for the working out of 

 such problems, brains, patience, and untiring per- 

 severance are required to any extent. Infatuated 

 species-hunters are not naturalists in the true sense 

 of the term, and the time taken up in running over 

 the country after new and rare species or varieties, 

 might be more profitably spent. 



Allow me to suggest a subject for microscopic 

 investigation— which is in a high state of confusion 

 — a subject which will require the eyes of thousands 

 of microscopists to search out its mysteries for genera- 

 tions possibly, a subject which is of vital consequence 

 to the human race, as it has to do with the problems 

 of life, health, disease, and death. I allude to the 

 microscopic fungi. 



The micro fungi in beauty of form and interest 

 far outstrip the diatoms. Their extraordinary 



